1. Field of the Disclosed Embodiments
This disclosure relates to systems and methods for improving powder material dispensing from containers, including toner dispensing from rotating toner cartridge components.
2. Related Art
Certain image forming devices use powdered toner as the marking material for image forming on image receiving substrates. The term “toner” generally refers to a powder used as the marking material in image forming devices such as xerographic image forming devices, laser printers and photocopiers to form printed text and images on image receiving substrates.
Toner is typically packaged in containers of differing sizes, shapes and compositions. These containers are often injection or blow molded container products. The containers may be generically referred to as “toner cartridges.” Toner cartridges are often closed containers in which the toner is conveniently packaged for supply to customers and/or end users. The customers and/or end users need never interact directly with the toner itself. The toner cartridges are customer replaceable consumable components that the customers or end-users install as complete replacement units in the image forming devices, which may be opened for access to the toner by the image forming devices once the toner cartridges are installed in the image forming devices.
Image forming devices today include monitoring capabilities for monitoring levels of all consumables, including toner. Upon an indication that any consumable, including toner in a particular toner cartridge, is nearly exhausted, the prudent customer or end-user will procure a replacement consumable component, in this case a toner cartridge, to have it at the ready. In this manner, when the image forming device advises the customer or end-user that the toner is exhausted, the customer or end user need only remove the exhausted component and replace it with a fresh, full component.
One particular configuration of toner cartridges are toner bottles that are generally circular in cross-sectional profile. These toner bottles are particularly configured to be rotated in the image forming device in which they are installed in a manner that causes the toner material contained in the toner bottles to be transported axially toward an opening at dispensing end of the toner bottles. The toner material in the toner bottle is then lifted radially toward an axially central opening in the dispensing end, through which the toner material is transported out of the toner bottle to the image forming device for use.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of a typically-configured rotating toner bottle system 100 that may be used to supply toner in a conventional image forming device. As shown in FIG. 1, the rotating toner bottle system 100 generally includes a toner bottle body 110 and an endcap 120. As will be described in greater detail below, the toner bottle body 110 and the endcap 120, which are typically combined as the closed rotating toner bottle, each include physical features that promote flow of the toner material contained in the toner bottle to the dispense end, and a dispensing opening 135, through the endcap 120 for the toner bottle.
The particular physical features are shown in exemplary manner in the depiction in FIG. 1. The toner bottle body 110 may include a helical feature 115 molded into the wall of the toner bottle body 110, which is intended to move or push the toner material in the toner bottle in the axial direction “B” toward the dispense end, i.e., the endcap 120 and dispensing opening 135, as the toner bottle is rotated in direction “A.”
When the toner material arrives at the endcap 120 at the dispense end of the toner bottle, there are a plurality of surfaces 125 in the endcap 120 of the toner bottle. This plurality of surfaces 125, again as the toner bottle is rotated in direction “A,” may be used to lift the toner material and allow the toner material to slide toward the centrally located dispense point, dispensing opening 135, to an image forming material transport conduit 130 in the image forming device.
FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate graphical examples of the flow behavior for the toner material in the endcap 220 of a rotating toner bottle as the toner bottle-endcap unit is rotated in direction “A.” FIGS. 2A and 2B show two positions 200 and 250 respectively of the endcap 220 as it rotates in direction “A.” Toner material 240 that has been transported axially in the toner bottle in the manner shown in FIG. 1 into the endcap 220 is lifted by the plurality of surfaces 225. A portion 260 of the toner material 240 lifted by the plurality of surfaces 225 is directed radially (see direction “C”) to the centrally located dispense point, dispensing opening 235, to be supplied out of the toner bottle and into the marking engine of the image forming device.